Reduced to Ashes
by valix33
Summary: A fire, the collapsing house, sirens, graves. With everything taken away so suddenly, Brandon and Jude are forced to move in with Mike as they try to leave Anchor Beach and move on with their lives. But can they pick up the pieces if there's nothing left to pick up?
1. The Fire

**When I was watching Brandon and Jude interact in last week's episode, I just thought of how little they'd interacted so far in the series. Be warned, there is a lot of sadness ahead. I don't own anything I don't own.**

It was midnight, and Jude wasn't supposed to be awake. But for some reason he just couldn't sleep, so he was downstairs on the couch staring up at the ceiling. Maybe there was just a lot on his mind, but there was a lot on everyone's mind. Ana had moved out of Mike's apartment after finally managing to secure a steady job. Brandon and the band had been on tour for the last two months and they were coming home in a week. Naturally Mariana and Mat had been talking through Skype every day and she was also taking part in a math program in the hopes of procuring a scholarship. Jesus had been struggling to find a purpose for the first month of summer but he recently got a new girlfriend and started spending his time with her. Callie had been hanging out with him the most and they'd been getting closer since Robert Quinn finally let her go.

With his eyes on the ceiling he didn't notice the dark smoke creeping its way toward him. It wasn't until the smoke alarm began blaring in his ears that he sat up with alarm. He rushed as fast as he could to the bottom of the stairs and saw the roaring flames licking at the walls upstairs.

"Callie!" he shouted, his biological half-sister the first thing on his mind. He charged upstairs and started searching for her. The smoke was much thicker up there and he started coughing as soon as it hit his lungs. When he tried to open the door to her room the handle burned his hand and he had to pull away. "Callie, are you in there?"

"Jude!" The call didn't come from inside the room, but down the hall. Lena came over to him and looked him over.

"Mom, where's everyone else?"

"I don't know. We're getting out of here right now."

"No, we can't leave without the others!" She grabbed him by the shoulders and her comforting eyes somehow managed to pacify him again.

"Listen to me, sweetie. It's not safe in here. We have to get outside and call the fire department. Okay?" Reluctantly Jude nodded and Lena took his hand, pulling him back down the stairs.

The fire had spread downstairs, catching the drapes and some of the walls in its blaze. On the way to the front door Lena stopped and grabbed one of the photo albums. When they headed for the exit a burst of fire caught the door and cut them off from escape. More smoke billowed around them and Jude felt suddenly dizzy, falling to his knees. She helped get him up and they went for the nearest window. He crawled out first and skidded on some grass upon landing, his head clouded by all the toxic smoke in his system. As soon as she got out she assisted him in getting to the end of the driveway and then they both fell down together.

"I don't feel good," he told her.

"You inhaled some smoke, we'll get help. I'm going to call 911 and they'll make sure everyone gets out." For a few seconds he actually believed her, but then they both heard a loud scream coming from inside.

"What was that?"

"Jesus!" screamed Lena, her calm and rational side overruled by her maternal instincts. Before Jude could grab onto her she was sprinting back toward the house, the photo album forgotten on the driveway. He got to his feet in an attempt to follow her but collapsed again. It was a struggle for him to maintain consciousness but he could still see the fire claiming his home.

"Mom!" he called. The neighbors had called 911 for them at this point and everyone was out in their yards watching, afraid to go too close. His fingers clawed at the ground, dragging himself forward to reach his family. A creaking sound echoed through the air, freezing him. The next moment the entire foundation of the house was collapsing in on itself, and then the sirens came.

He was silent the entire trip to the hospital, he was silent when he heard them call Mike, and he was silent when he sat in his hospital bed waiting for news. When finally they came over to him the grim looks on their faces told him everything he needed to know. Jesus had burned to death, Mariana had gone from smoke inhalation, and Stef had been crushed by a wooden beam trying to get Callie out. Lena had succumbed to her wounds in the ambulance, her selflessness finally getting the best of her. As he stared at his trembling hands, in shock, he overheard them say that Callie was in the ER with a collapsed lung. That was all it took for him to jump up and run to find her.

She wasn't going to make it, that much was clear. Even with all the doctors working on her it was clear from the bruising and splintered bones how much damage the wooden beam had done to her. The doctors noticed his presence in the room but they were too busy to have him removed.

"Callie," he stated desperately, losing feeling in his muscles. "Callie, wake up!" An orderly came in and grabbed him, trying to pull him out.

"You can't be in here. You need to get back to your room." He flailed and squirmed, using all his strength to resist.

"No, Callie! That's my sister!" Everything was disrupted by a loud and sudden beep, the flat lining of a heart monitor. Jude recalled screaming and three people forcing him from the room while he begged for Callie to come back.

This couldn't be happening. Just a few months ago he'd gotten the first real family in years and it had seemed like everything would be alright. Now it had been taken away from him and he was an orphan again. But Callie, she had always been the one constant in his life. When his parents had died she'd been there to get through it with him. She had always protected him, but she was gone. Before he knew it he was back in his room and Mike had wrapped his arms around him.

"I'm so sorry Jude," the man whispered, sounding like he was about to pass out himself. With someone keeping him on his feet he found the tears finally started pouring out. There was so much pain and he had no way to make it go away. This was happening.

**Don't hate me, I didn't like writing this part but I wanted to do something different. Brandon becomes a big part of the story next chapter, update coming soon! Let me know what you thought.**


	2. What Happens Next

**I admit I wasn't expecting so much positive feedback, so thanks you guys. This chapter is from Brandon's perspective. Hope you like it. I don't own anything I don't own.**

_I should've been here._ That was what Brandon thought as he sat in the back of his dad's car gazing at his shoes. He wished that he could've been home when the fire happened, that he could've saved his family from their horrible fates. As soon as Dad had called him he'd rushed home from tour and driven straight to the charred remains of his former house. For days he'd done nothing but cried and mourned, feeling like maybe if he cried enough the pain would go away. The funeral had been yesterday and it seemed that he had no more tears left to shed. It didn't stop him from missing every one of them.

Mariana. They'd fought a few times but he knew in his heart that she was truly his sister and they looked out for each other when it counted. Mat had come back from tour as well, heartbroken at the loss of the girl he loved. He'd been at the funeral, helping with the caskets and laying a flower down on her gravestone. Even the dance team had come to pay their respects.

Jesus. He remembered giving his younger brother relationship advice, and the way the two would keep each other's secrets. Sometimes Jesus could be a little self-absorbed, especially when it came to relationships. It didn't change the fact that he would help out the family as often as he could, especially when it came to Mariana.

Lena. Blood didn't matter; she'd been just as much his mother as if she'd given birth to him. She was always the one that he could go to, like when she'd helped him tell his parents about Dani. As a mother she sacrificed so much to do what was right and she always knew how to make someone smile. Her mother had come to him at the funeral and wrapped her arms around him, wishing him all the best with tears rolling down her cheeks. A parent losing their child was the worst kind of loss there could be. There was nothing he could say because he just felt too much guilt that it was her lying in that casket.

Callie. Their relationship had been complicated. He honestly wasn't sure if he loved her, but she was very special to him. They were so much alike in that they wanted to be who they were without being judged. She was creative and smart and they would always help each other. But she could never catch a break. There was so much suffering thrown her way and he'd thought that she could finally get the happy ending that she deserved. He'd been wrong.

And Mom. Throughout everything she had always had his best interest at heart. She'd been the one constant in his life. When Dad had his alcohol problems, when the twins first moved into the house. Even with all the trouble that he got into she would be there telling him that he was such a good person. Grandma had been in town for the last week, helping him and the family with whatever they needed. Of course she'd bawled her eyes out when they got to the funeral. She left just this morning after ensuring that they would be alright.

At the moment Dad was meeting with a lawyer to discuss what his moms had left behind. Most of it likely didn't matter, considering a lot of their things had been destroyed when the house collapsed. Part of him was bothered by how Dad was handling the whole situation. He hadn't cried even once, not during the funeral or the wake. It was strange and Brandon wanted to see him care.

"You can move into my room if you want," he said quietly, glancing over at Jude sitting in the other backseat. "If you want your own room, Dad might help you move into the spare room." There was no response from Jude. He hadn't spoken a word since the fire and it was concerning everyone around him, much like that week months ago when he didn't talk. No one else had seen what happened during the fire so no one else could really understand what was going through his mind.

Dad got into the car and his eyes drifted sideways toward the box sitting on the passenger side. So little had been recovered that they'd been able to fit it into a single box. He took some time to take a deep breath before starting the engine and driving away.

"What happened?" inquired Brandon.

"Pretty much what I expected. Everything they had is going to you two. We have to open an account in your name so they can transfer your moms' money over to you." It didn't feel good to be getting money that his moms had worked hard their entire lives for, but it wasn't like they had a choice.

Back at the house, the two boys were sat down on the couch while Dad made some phone calls in the other room. Brandon wished Jude would say something, but it was like he was a husk. He wouldn't move unless someone guided him and the expression on his face never changed. Several times Brandon had carried on a conversation with him, not sure if he was even processing what was being said around him. The courts had wanted to take him away and put him back into the system but his dad had convinced them to release him into his custody.

"Okay boys, we need to have a talk." The older Foster took a seat across from them and put his hands in his lap.

"What is it?"

"Do you want to stay in Anchor Beach?" The question was blunt and it took Brandon by surprise.

"Dad, I've lived here like my entire life," he answered. "Why would we leave?"

"Look, I'm just saying that sometimes it can be hard to go back to life as normal when you stay in one place. It might be good for everyone to start over someplace new."

"Where would we even go?"

"I made some calls B. They got a job for me in Pacific Heights. Still in California, a few hours away, but we could start over. I even found a nice place that could fit all three of us." Brandon considered everything that was going through his head. There was so much for him here, school, his friends, and the band. But the idea of going back to all the places he'd been with his family sounded like torture. His dad would still be with him, and maybe things would be better out there.

"Jude, what do you think?" he asked the younger boy. Jude shrugged, his expression unchanging. They could probably ask him to move to the Middle East and he wouldn't object.

"I talked to your grandmother, she knows where the place is and she'd still come and see you. Said you two should be the ones making the decision. If you want to stay we'll stay, but it's up to you." He thought of the smoking remains of his house, the pitiful glances that would come his way upon his return to school, and all the bad history that lied with Anchor Beach.

"Okay. We'll leave Anchor Beach."

**So the three are moving to another town. I think other characters will make an appearance in the story but it will mainly be about them starting over. Let me know what you thought!**


End file.
